Coupon Freak vs. Cashier…My Story

Oh how I crack myself up with that post title…so melodramtic isn’t it? Sorry…it has been a LONG (but great) weekend and I am slap happy…so bear with me! :)

A couple of days ago, I ran to the mall to pick up a few last minute things that I needed for this weekend. I went to store #1 and purchased a pair of tights and a camisole. I had a coupon with me that I printed off the web (from the store’s own site) for 50% off of my purchase. When I handed it to the cashier, she mentioned that the coupon wouldn’t work on the camisole, only the tights. I have decided that when using coupons, I am always going to be nice to the cashier. And so I replied, “That’s ok…whatever it works on is fine with me.” I don’t know if she was surprised that I didn’t yell at her, or if she was just feeling generous, but she then told me that she would just go ahead and give it to me. That saved me an additional $7 on my order.

Then I went to a large department store to buy a purse. It was marked down 25% off. I had clipped a 15% off coupon from the newspaper that morning, but left it at home. So, when I took the purse up to the cashier, I asked her if she had any at the register that I could use since I walked off without mine. At first she said no, and I again said “that’s ok…the purse is still 25% off so I’ll take it”. Then, for some reason, she looked at me and said the same as the girl in the other store…that she would just give me the extra discount. That saved me an additional $3.50 on my order.

And so, while I can’t be sure (this was not a scientific study, after all), I think that by being courteous to the cashiers, I saved an extra $10.50 on my purchases. Every little bit counts right? (Helloooo…that is at least 3 coffees at Starbucks!!)

I have read some stories about cashiers who have given some of my fellow “coupon freaks” a hard time. So far I have found that if I joke with the cashiers about being a coupon freak, apologize for having 50 million coupons, and not causing a scene if they won’t put something through (within reason), that I am having pretty good luck. I also try my hardest to read the fine print on the coupons so that I am not trying to get the cashier to do something that they shouldn’t be doing.

So what is the moral of this story? Be kind, don’t be afraid to ask for a discount if you left a coupon at home or if an item is damaged or close to expiration, and don’t try to pull one over on the cashier with your coupons. And of course, reserve the right to stand up for yourself if need be…scanning coupons can be annoying for cashiers, but it is not illegal for us to use them, and it is a part of their job, right?